Bram Stoker Festival comes to Dublin

The inaugural Bram Stoker Festival: My Name is Dracula will take place in Dublin later this month, with RTÉ Young Peoples presenter Diana Bunici among those taking part in the celebrations of the Irish literary great and his most famous creation.

Presented by Dublin City Council, the festival runs from Friday October 26 to Sunday October 28, with the public "invited to venture into the unknown for a gothic scarefest like no other and discover the hidden secrets that lie beneath the capital's streets this Halloween".

The festival opens with The Anatomy of Fear, a talk by best-selling crime author Patricia Cornwell, which will be introduced by the State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy.

The life and work of novelist Bram Stoker will be on display during the festival at the Little Museum of Dublin, St Stephen's Green, with the writer's great-grand-nephew, Dacre Stoker, describing the exhibition as "the single most important collection of material related to Bram that has ever been put on public display". The exhibition includes the earliest inscribed copy of Dracula, Bram Stoker's first published short story, The Crystal Cup, and the first Irish translation (1933) of Dracula.

Along with an outdoor screening of Nosferatu with a live score by 3epkano, Gothic Tales from the Crypt in Christchurch Cathedral, walking tours, children's workshops and panel discussions, RTÉ presenter Diana Bunici will interview best-selling author Derek Landy and others about their influences in Nightmare at Smock Alley.

The festival closes with a family-themed spectacle from street theatre company Spraoí in the grounds of Dublin Castle on Sunday evening, October 28.

Commenting, Lord Mayor of Dublin Naoise Ó Muirí said: "For the first time ever, Dubliners and tourists alike can enjoy a weekend of spine-chilling adventure by taking a tour of Dublin's gothic past.

"This three-day festival includes film, exhibitions, plays, literature and performances and I invite Dubliners to celebrate Bram Stoker and his legacy of Dracula. What better way to celebrate Halloween than to get first-hand exposure to Dracula's blood-thirsty exploits?"